About Josephine Zhao

Josephine Zhao for School Board 2018

Josephine is a public school mom, an engaged community leader, and a passionate advocate for students, parents, and public schools. She is a single mother of two girls enrolled in San Francisco public schools and has been deeply involved in the public school community since 2009.

A firm believer in the power of community, Josephine has been an ardent leader in the PTA, on the English Language Advisory Council (ELAC), and the School Site Council (SSC) for several years. On the San Francisco Board of Education’s Parent Advisory Council she strove to ensure parents from all backgrounds had a seat at the table when policy is being discussed and developed.

Josephine immigrated to the United States to pursue higher education and knows first-hand the power a quality education can have in changing lives. As a champion for our students, she was a key advocate in the successful campaign to add Geometry to SFUSD’s summer course curriculum for 10th grade students in 2017.

In addition to her advocacy for public schools, Josephine is a community builder who has founded two nonprofit organizations since 2011. The first, AsianAmericanVoters.org focuses on educating and organizing San Francisco’s Asian American communities around the subjects of education, housing, and quality of life and anti-discrimination issues. The second, BetterHousingPolicies.org, provides training to immigrant housing providers on ethical standards, translation services, conflict resolution between tenants and landlords, and assistance for first-time homebuyers when navigating the process of purchasing a new home.

Josephine holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Colorado State University, a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from University of Northern Colorado, and is a graduate of Emerge California. She currently works for Hoover Middle School as the school/family liaison.

Josephine will draw on her unique experience as a public school mom, district employee and parent advocate. She deeply understands the needs of students, parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and the school district. Josephine is running for the San Francisco School Board because she believes all of these stakeholders can work together to make fantastic public schools that serve the entire community.